There will be a NY State Board of Elections meeting on the ExpressVote XL
Thank you for protecting your vote.
URGENT: REJECT CERTIFICATION OF THE EXPRESSVOTE XL VOTING MACHINE
The people of New York State have a right to have their votes counted as cast, and the right to have confidence in their election process. Those rights face immediate and present danger.
The New York State Board of Elections may certify a voting machine made by ES&S called the ExpressVote XL very soon.
The ExpressVote XL is a dangerously insecure, glitchy, over-priced voting system that many good government groups, disability advocates and security experts oppose.
"Common Cause/NY is alarmed to see the New York State Board of Elections move in a direction that would undermine the security of our elections.”
Emails obtained via public records requests show that even the New York State Board of Elections is concerned about design flaws in the system.
Emails also reveal that, in May of 2019, the New York State Board of Elections halted certification of the ExpressVote XL. They were concerned that the machine was not compatible with state regulations. After the certification process was halted, the ES&S legal team threatened to sue the Board stating, “ES&S has authorized our firm to take any and all legal action necessary to preserve their rights...as your… actions have put ES&S in a position to lose… many business opportunities to sell the XL system to New York State customers.”
Despite (or perhaps because of) what most would view as an inappropriate threat, the Board has proceeded with the certification process and certification of the system could be imminent.
OUR ASKS:
WHY REJECT CERTIFICATION OF THE EXPRESSVOTE XL?
Voters and Candidates Have Lost Confidence in the ExpressVote XL
Many Disability Advocates and Good Government Groups Oppose The ExpressVote XL
Security Experts Strongly Oppose the ExpressVote XL
Current Security Threats Combined with ES&S Sloppy Practices are a Catastrophic Combination
The ExpressVote XL may cause long lines at the polls, and is expensive.
The New York City Board of Elections has already requested permission to buy this system, raising the frightening spectre that if the machine is certified, as many as 4.5 million voters could be using it within a year. This is a nightmare scenario that we must prevent.
The New York State Board of Elections must stop certification of this dangerous voting machine immediately.
For the last ten years, with the exception of one village, the majority of New York voters have voted with hand-marked paper ballots with the option to use a non-tabulating ballot-marking device if needed. This system, combined with robust audits, provides “the gold standard” for protecting elections from error and hacking.
We must continue to follow expert guidance in our elections and not succumb to vendor pressure to buy expensive systems that do not serve the public. It is imperative that we protect our right to secure, accurate, private, and accessible elections.
We urge you to stop certification of the ExpressVote XL today.
Sincerely,
Citizens for Voting Integrity New York
CCoHOPE Indivisible
SMART Elections
More information is available on the SMART Elections website.
Coalition Signatures
Experts:
Dr. David A. Bader, Director of the Institute for Data Science at New Jersey Institute of Technology
Jan BenDor, Statewide Coordinator, Michigan Election Reform Alliance
Dr. Duncan Buell, NCR Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, University of South Carolina
Dr. Richard DeMillo, Chair, School of Cybersecurity and Privacy, Georgia Tech
Emily Levy, Founder and Director, Scrutineers.org
Dr. Virginia Martin, Former election commissioner, Columbia County, NY
Karen McKim - Coordinator, Wisconsin Election Integrity
Susan Pynchon, Founder & Executive Director Florida Fair Elections Coalition
Dr. Stephanie F. Singer, Research Assistant Professor, Portland State University; Former Chair, Philadelphia County Board of Elections
Daniel H. Wolf, Esq., CEO, Founder Democracy Counts!
*Affiliation is for identification purposes only and does not signify organizational endorsement.
Groups:
Alliance for Democracy
American Council of the Blind of New York
AUDIT Elections USA
Bethlehem Morning Voice Huddle
Bronx Green Party
Citizens’ Audit Broward
Clean Count Cook County
Concerned Citizens For Change
Concerned Families of Westchester
Consumers Health Freedom Coalition
Democracy Counts!, Inc
Downtown Nasty Women Social Group
Dutchess County Progressive Action Alliance (DCPAA)
Florida Fair Elections Coalition
Indivisible Scarsdale
IndivisibleWeStand UWS
Jamestown Justice Coalition
Los Angeles County Voters Action Coalition
Markers For Democracy
Michigan Election Reform Alliance
Movement for a People's Party
National Voting Rights Task Force
New York Association on Independent Living
New York Democratic Lawyers Council
New York Progressive Action Network (NYPAN)
NYPAN Greene
NYPAN SFL - Southern Finger Lakes
NYCD16-Indivisible
Progressive Democrats of America
Protect Our Vote Philly
Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter
Scrutineers.org
Team Min
The Wednesday Group
Tompkins County Progressives
Ulster Activists (U-ACT)
ValidatetheVoteUSA.org
Westchester for Change
Wisconsin Election Integrity
Footnotes:
1. “As many as 30% of Northampton County’s ExpressVote XL voting machines had flawed touch screens that prevented voters from selecting candidates listed on the edge of the ballot. At the same time, machines failed to electronically count any votes for some candidates in cross-filed races.” - The Morning call 12/19/19
2. Pennsylvania 2018 Department of State certification report on ES&S voting systems, including the ExpressVote XL.
3. An examination of the Election Systems & Software (ES&S) EVS 6.1.1.0 voting system was conducted at the Texas Secretary of State Elections Division offices on August 21, 2020. It included an examination of the ExpressVote XL.
4. According to a CBS News report.
If your group would like to sign the letter, please fill out this Google form. Please also send to any election, security, disability, voting rights, or good government groups that you think would be interested in signing. Experts are being asked by invitation.
Thank you so much!
If you would like to send your own letter, please email it to the following New York State Election officials:
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